


something sensual (though non-conventional)

by cori_the_bloody



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, just straight fluff intended to cheer up a friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29756610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cori_the_bloody/pseuds/cori_the_bloody
Summary: in which Julie realizes how many things you can say with a kiss and Luke, famously, doesn’t shut up
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 15
Kudos: 193





	something sensual (though non-conventional)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nottheleastbrave](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nottheleastbrave/gifts).



**i. good luck**

  


Julie nearly spills hot tea all over herself when Luke poofs suddenly onto the kitchen counter. As it is, she slops some of it onto her history textbook.

“Whoops,” he says, noticing.

“I hate you,” she tells him.

“For that?” he asks, eyes wide. “Jules, I can make you more tea.”

“No, you kinda can’t.”

He hops down off the island and circles around it, and then his eyebrows come together as he focuses on picking the kettle up off the burner. When he manages to lift it, his head snaps up. “Ha!”

“Yeah, I’m super impressed.” She dabs at the wrinkling pages of the textbook with the end of her t-shirt.

“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Luke says, setting the kettle down and moving for the table. “What gives?”

“I have a history test in—” She pauses to check her phone. “—Nine hours and so far all I’ve done is make up a song about a bunch of acronyms, but I still don’t have a clue what any of them mean.”

He steps up onto the chair next to her and then squats down. “Want a study buddy?”

“You and I both know that’s not a helpful suggestion.”

He grins impishly. “Okay, fine. You want a distraction buddy?”

She snorts in spite of herself. “Yes, desperately. But—”

He’s already nodding. “I got it.” And then he leans in and plants a forceful kiss on her temple, almost tipping her out of her seat. “Be nice to that brain in there.”

Before she even gets the chance to turn to him, he’s poofed away again.

  


**ii. i missed you**

  


“Finally!”

She’s barely even opened the door to the studio when the exclamation rings out.

“Hello?” she says as she steps inside, more a question than a greeting.

Luke barrels into her, knocking her a few steps back and out of the studio again as he locks his legs around her hips.

“Hi, Julie,” Alex says, appearing in the doorway with a wave. “Good to see you. Oh, and by the way, you’re never allowed to sleep over Flynn’s for an entire weekend ever again, hope that’s okay.”

“Um.”

“You were gone _forever_ ,” Luke says, lips at the crook of her neck and working their way up.

“Gross,” Alex says lightly, then turns on his heel and disappears again.

“You have to stop that,” Julie tells Luke, her whole body shivering with laughter and want and effort, “or I’m going to drop you.”

“No,” he says, legs tightening around her as he plants a loud, smacking kiss over her ear before moving on to scatter them across her cheek.

To his credit, he does stop when they start listing sideways. But only long enough to catch her.

  


**iii. pay attention to me**

  


A hand suddenly flies into Julie’s field of vision and smacks away her phone.

“Hey!” she protests. “You’re gonna crack the screen!”

Luke crosses his eyes at her, swooping in and grabbing hold of her face.

In the space of a blink, his lips are on hers, eager and giving her that warm little jolt of electricity that she’s still not sure if it has more to do with kissing a ghost or kissing Luke.

She regrets that her instinctual reaction is to snort directly in his face but, oh well, too late, that’s what happens.

He laughs at her and then she laughs at him laughing at her and their front teeth click.

“That would stop happening if you would just give me a warning before you go and do something like that,” she says when he pulls away a fraction of an inch.

“I did warn you,” he says, tracing a circle on the tip of her nose with his own. “The phone thing.”

“Yeah, that was not okay.”

“Okay,” he says, closing the distance between their lips again, “something else next time.”

She hums her agreement.

The electric spark burns hotter when she goes to kiss back.

  


**iv. i hate that you’re hurting**

  


Julie turns the physical copy of Julie and the Phantoms demo Flynn made special for her over and over in her hand, staring at the shelf that houses her mother’s CD collection.

She’s clocked hours in front of this shelf, trying to choose her next obsession, so she can tell that her dad hasn’t touched it yet, and she’s trying to figure out if that makes her feel more relieved or sad when Luke materializes out of the air.

He falls back into a lean against the wall and raises his eyebrows at her. “Need this to be a private moment?”

Julie frowns. “It’s already kinda not.”

“How’s that?” he asks, cocking his head.

She stares down at her fiddling hands. “Can feel her here.”

“Then she probably is,” he says, nodding, and then folds himself criss-cross down onto the floor beside her. “In whatever way she’s able to be.”

Julie nudges her shoulder into his. “Thanks.”

He catches her eye and holds her there in the moment before leaning forward to press his lips into the top of her shoulder.

She lets her eyes drift closed when he’s no longer staring, focusing all her sense on feeling the pressure of the kiss.

He pulls back after a little while. “So,” he says, voice quiet. Reverent, Julie thinks. “What are we doing here?”

She holds up the CD. “I thought she’d probably want this as part of her collection.”

He grins. “Want help strategizing where to put it?”

She narrows her eyes. “You’ve been up here before.”

“Hell yeah,” he says, not even kind of ashamed. “Your mom has wicked good taste.”

Her laugh feels at least a little bit like a sob. “Alright,” she says, nodding at the shelf. “Tell me what you were thinking.”

  


**v. you’re pretty**

  


Julie hasn’t even left the dressing room before she starts to regret letting Flynn pick her outfit for the show.

She watches her reflection fiddle with the lapel of her suit jacket, dumpy and short and not at all suave enough to pull off this look. No matter how much she might want to.

There’s a knock at her door, and then Reggie’s head pops through, eyes squeezed shut. “You dressed in here or what?”

Julie turns away from the mirror with a sigh, giving up. “Yeah, come on in.”

“Wow,” Reggie says, stopping just inside the doorway. “You look hot. Like you’re seconds away from holding a press conference.”

Alex shoves Reggie out of the way as he phases through the door. “How are those two things related?”

“I don’t know,” Reggie says, gesticulating toward Julie. “Suits…”

“Okay, well, at least he’s right about one thing.” Alex nods at her as Luke files in. “That’s a good look for you. I like the shorts.”

Luke, too, comes to a dead stop, his eyes going wide.

“Okay, I get it,” Julie says, rolling her eyes at them. “I look good.”

“Good?” Luke makes his way over to her, shaking his head. “Try badass.” He comes to a stop in front of her, leaning in to study the pins on her lapel, and then flicks at the ghost. “Nice.”

“Glad you like it,” she says, feeling the tension start to ease out of her shoulders.

He nods, and then shoves an energetic kiss into her cheek as he stands up straight. She lets herself be jostled, feeling her heart spark in her chest.

“Band circle?” he asks.

“Please,” Alex says.

Reggie bows to her. “I await your wisdom, press conference queen.”

Julie shakes her head, holding out her hands to them. “That’s _boss_ to you, weirdo.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the guys chorus.

Her responding laugh shakes the rest of her nerves loose.

  


**vi. goodnight**

  


“Hey,” Luke says when Julie yawns for the millionth time, setting his guitar on the ground and propping it up against the arm of the couch. “You’re supposed to stop me when I get like this.”

“Like what?” she asks, dropping her head onto his shoulder.

“All crazed and inconsiderate.”

“We’re close to something though,” she says, her eyes drifting shut. “Something big.”

“Nah,” he says, and she feels his face press into the top of her head. “You wouldn’t be half-asleep, then.”

“Hey,” she says. “Wide awake over here.”

He nudges her with his nose. “Julie.”

“Hmm?”

“Go to sleep.”

“Maybe I will.”

“Right here?”

She nods. “For a little bit, anyway.”

“Okay.” She hears the smile in his voice. And then feels the press of his lips at the crown of her head. “Sweet dreams.”

The last thing she does before drifting off is smile back.

  


**vii. have a good day at school**

  


“I’ll text when I’m on my way home from school,” Julie calls to her dad as she steps out the front door. “It’s gonna be later than usual today, remember?”

“Showcase rehearsals,” her dad’s voice floats back to her. “I know!”

“Love you!”

“Love you, too!”

She turns, about to dash off down the path to the street to meet Flynn, and knocks right into Luke.

He steadies her with a hand cupping her elbow. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she says back breathlessly. “I’m—”

“Late, yeah. You left this in the studio, though.” He holds up her composition folder with his other hand.

“Oh, my god, you’re a lifesaver,” she says, snatching it from him.

He smiles, and then pecks her on the forehead before stepping smoothly out of her way.

She waves as she takes off.

His voice follows after her. “You’re gonna crush it today!”

“It’s only rehearsal!”

“Yeah, but still!”

Her pleased blush stays with her all the way to school.

  


**viii. i like you**

  


Julie lets her head loll to the side, rolling against the studio door, and studies Luke’s profile for a moment. “Hey, you wanna play a game?”

“Yes,” he says. “Absolutely.” He turns to face her with a smile. “What kind of game?”

“The first one of us to make a basket from the second step,” she says, pointing, “gets to be secretary for the next five writing sessions.”

His eyes glimmer. “Oh, you are so on.” Then he pops up onto his feet and offers her hand. “And when I win, you’re not allowed to be mean about my handwriting.”

She shakes her head, grabbing his hand and letting him haul her up. “Those were not the terms.”

“Can they be?”

“Nope,” she says.

He pouts, but gives up after a second when she raises her eyebrows, unmoved.

“Fine, deal.” They shake on it. “You drive a hard bargain, Molina.”

“You have Carlos to thank for that,” she says, spinning around and going to retrieve the basketball. “I’m wise to all your little-brother tricks.”

Luke’s nose crinkles. “You think of me like a little brother? That’s pretty twisted, Jules.”

“Oh, my god, not what I meant,” she says, shoving the ball into his chest.

He takes it with an amused eyebrow waggle and hops up onto the stairs.

“Although…” she continues, “you guys do have a lot in common. I mean, you’re both total shits, for one thing.”

Luke fumbles his shot, the ball ricocheting off the garage siding without coming anywhere near the hoop. “Can you stop comparing me to Carlos? It’s throwing me off my game.”

Julie grins, watching as he chases after the ball. “It sure is.”

“Hey!” He bounces the ball to her. “Devious.”

She grins wider as she lines up her own shot. Luke jumps when she does, letting out a yell.

“Okay, I deserved that,” she allows, watching the ball fall a foot short of its target and then launching herself off the step after it.

“Truce?” Luke asks, setting his hands over hers when she offers the ball to him.

“But, wait,” she says, tipping her chin back and looking up at him. “I thought of another thing you and Carlos have in common.”

He raises his eyebrows.

“You’re both my family.”

His eyes go shimmery warm—the ocean on a summer night. “I can handle that one,” he says, and then he leans in.

She lets him sweep her up like a wave.

  


**ix. you’re a star**

  


Luke catches Julie’s hand as soon as she walks off stage and into the wings, twirling her around once…twice.

“You’re making me dizzy,” she says, planting her feet with a laugh.

“Good,” he says. “‘Bout time you knew what it feels like.”

“What _what_ feels like?”

He brushes his lips over her knuckles instead of answering. “I never get tired of watching you do that.”

“Yeah, well.” She feels her breath catch in her chest as she nods back out at the stage. “You’re not so bad to look at yourself.”

He grins but he’s shaking his head. “No way. It’s like the sun and the moon. Borrowed shine, baby.”

“It’s lighter fluid and oxygen,” she argues. “You’ll never get fire if you take one away.”

He searches her face for a second before surging into her.

“Speaking of fire…” she says when he pulls back long enough to allow for breathing.

He laughs breathlessly. “I know you have to go find your dad, but definitely write that down somewhere first.”

She steals another quick kiss. “Yeah, I liked it, too.”

  


**x. i love you**

  


“Wait a second,” Luke says, shifting in the beanbag chair by her window to sit up straighter. “I’ve heard this one before.”

Julie raises her eyebrows, looking up from her sketchpad. “No, pretty sure this was after your time.”

“No, I know.” Luke shakes his head. “I mean I’ve heard it here before. With you.” He starts clumsily chasing the chords of “Man in The Moon” on his guitar.

“Right. That makes sense,” she says, turning back to her desk. “This is my Luke playlist.”

He stops playing. “Your what?”

Belatedly, she feels heat creep up the back of her neck. “Uh.”

He shifts closer to her, dragging the whole chair with him. “So what are we talking here? Songs that remind you of me? Songs you’d think I’d like?”

She puts down her pencil and looks at him. “Both, obviously.”

“Obviously,” he repeats, pressing his tongue between his teeth. “You know I’m gonna need a tracklist as soon as possible, right?”

“Yeah,” she says, watching as he pushes up onto his knees. “Alright.”

He reaches for her, catching her face between his palms, but then he stops there, studying her.

“What are you doing?” she asks after a moment, whispering.

“This is kinda the most romantic moment of my existence,” he whispers back. “Just trying to savor it.”

“Oh.” The heat under her skin intensifies. And that’s before he leans fully in and attempts to pour himself directly into her heart. Before he succeeds in filling her up completely.

She’s not sure how much time passes before they break apart, but they’re in the middle of another song by the time they do.

**Author's Note:**

> "Man in The Moon" is a Jukebox the Ghost song, naturally


End file.
